A Song Of The Sky And The Moon
by LadyHuntressOfBedlam
Summary: Just a little Rayllum story.
1. Taken

Callum held Zym close to him and he and Rayla were ushered into the throne room for the elven duke who had caught them. Despite his discomfort, it didn't hold a candle to how Rayla was acting. She was stiff, and her face set in a livid scowl. Callum wasn't sure he wanted to know why she was so angry, and he was afraid to ask with so many open ears around.

Zym whimpered in Callum's arms, and he gave the dragon a reassuring pat. He was just glad that Lujanne's gifts were working, and that Rayla was clever enough to ask for them. It took some getting used to , knowing that just because he could feel his pinkies didn't mean he could see them. Just because others could see the horns atop his head that didn't mean he could feel them. Just because Zym was green that didn't make him any less a storm dragon. He twisted the ring on his middle finger, the one that kept him disguised, and looked around the room at the many faces that watched he and Rayla approached the moonshadow elf seated on the dais.

The elf there was tall and slender with streaks of grey in her white hair. Her face, while still beautiful, was marked with age and some fine lines.

When Rayla stopped, Callum bumped into her, which made her turn around and glare at him. "Sorry," he mumbled as he took a step back.

She rolled her eyes but didn't respond, turning back to the older elf, who was using a gnarled cane to help her stand. Someone tried to help her up, but she shooed them away with a wave of her hand.

She approached Rayla, her violet eyes in a stern glare. "Rayla, is it necessary that we resort to capture for this?"

Rayla crossed her arms and defiantly said, "You of all people should know where I'm headed and why I need to get there."

"And you'd rather feed your pride and sleep in mud than set foot under this roof, I know," the woman grumbled. "You're just as stubborn as your father."

"And he's just as stubborn as you," Rayla muttered.

Shifting Zym onto one hip, Callum warily raised his hand and said, "Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt or anything-"

"And yet you have," the older elf said coldly.

"Don't mind him," Rayla interjected. "He was raised by humans. I found 'im and the little one in Katollis. I'm takin' them both home after my work is done."

She had worked on the lie for a while, and it had the desired effect. Murmurs rose through the hall, some of them full of pity and others outraged. It didn't do anything to help the already bad relationship between elves and humans, but it would keep Callum safe until they reached Zym's mother.

"You poor lad," the older elf said. "It must have been like being raised in a lightless cave. A skywing elf needs to be with the heavens. The mongrels probably didn't even teach you anything about your ways."

"Uh..." Callum said, looking desperately at Rayla for help. "I don't think so."

"You're welcome to our library for as long as you're here. There's a section about skywing magic there. Poor dear, you haven't even taken your wings yet. ," the woman offered. "Assuming the humans even taught you how to read."

"Yeah, they taught me how to read," Callum said, his confusion growing. "So...you're not taking us prisoner?"

The woman laughed at this. "Of course not, my pet. I'm Lady Raelyra, the matriarch of my family, the Welun family."

"I'm Calyn," Callum recited the rehearsed lie. He and Rayla had both agreed it would be best to keep elf-Callum's name as close to the real thing as possible. "We appreciate your hospitality, Lady Raelyra."

"Ah, yes. That's how I like my hospitality best. By force," Rayla replied snidely.

"Rayla!" Callum exclaimed.

Lady Raelyra laughed at this and said, "Don't trouble yourself, Calyn. That's far from the worst thing I've heard from my granddaughter. Now...supper

is going to be soon. Rayla, I hope you can see to it that your companions are properly attired."

Rayla gave her grandmother a mocking bow and said, "Anythin' you say, Lady Raelyra."

"I expect you to be properly attired as well, young lady," Raelyra said, her voice stern.

"I am properly attired. We're leavin'. I won't be roped into one of your stupid dinner parties."

"Rayla," Callum pleaded quietly. "The library. Pleeeeease? I could learn more sky magic."

"Then you can stay here, learn all the sky magic you like, and I'll take the little one," Rayla countered stubbornly. "I'm not stayin'."

"Then I guess I'll see you around because I am," Callum said.

Rayla bristled at this, and Lady Raelyra laughed. "I like your friend, Rayla. Surely a night or two won't kill you. Calyn will get access to the library, and you'll get caught up on some...important matters."

Rolling her eyes, Rayla scoffed, "Important matters...fine. We'll stay for one night. We leave tomorrow."

"Don't forget to make yourself presentable, dear!" Raelyra called after Rayla as she took Callum by the hand and yanked him toward the exit, her pace relentless.

_This story isn't going to be super long. Somewhere between 3-5 chapters. Set in like...the middle of the third season, which has yet to be released. Probably because the second one just recently came out. Rayllum has become like...my obsessive ship for the time being. I love them so forking much! Anyway, be sure to subscribe and review if you want to see Rayla in a dress, a cousin of Rayla, Callum being a nerd, and more! _


	2. Home Sweet Home

"This is your room?" Callum asked as he and Zym followed Rayla through the door.

The chamber they walked into was as big as his and Ezran's rooms combined. In the center was a sitting room with lavish furniture. There were two doors on either side, one was shut, and the other one revealed a washroom. It seemed so clean and tidy. So...unlike Rayla.

Rayla took her swords out of her belt and pitched them at a spot in the wall. The blades slipped deep into the white wood, enwreathed by more holes in the wall where she had done the same thing. Callum looked closer and found other small traces of the girl he knew. Dents in the wood scratches in the stone mended rips in the fabric.

"Yeah," Rayla muttered, and she plopped onto the sofa in the middle of the room. "Looks like gran sent in the cleaners." She put a foot against the sitting room table and pushed it over, the vase full of white lilies hitting the stone floor and shattering, raining broken crystal and flower petals onto the floor.

Zym whined and looked at Callum, who shared in the dragon's concern. As he put Zym down, Callum asked, "Is there any particular reason why you hate your grandmother so much?"

Rayla glared up at Callum and snapped, "I don't hate my gran, and I don't hate my parents either...we just aren't on speakin' terms. Now go take a bath so you can go to your stupid library before stupid dinner."

"Do you...maybe wanna talk about why you're so mad?" Callum asked. He was maddeningly curious, but he also theorized that if Rayla vented a little bit, she might feel better.

"Do I look like I wanna talk about it?" Rayla snapped. "Go take a bloody bath or I'm gonna run some water with the sole intent of drownin' you in it."

"Fine, fine, I'm going," Callum muttered. He went into the washroom. He stayed in there for a few minutes before he finally reemerged, admitting that he didn't know how to run a bath without a water source or a fire. Though Rayla was annoyed, she showed him how to turn on the facet and how to adjust it before she left.

To occupy her time, Rayla went to her bedroom to find something to wear for the night. She knew all too well that if she didn't already have something picked, then Alya would do it, and she was not in the mood to let her cousin play dress up.

She scowled as she sorted through her clothes, finding that everything was still there, nothing having been thrown out since she left home. She hadn't hated her wardrobe when she left to finish training as an assassin, but now...she hated everything. She had half a mind to cut it all to bits, but she didn't. Maybe Alya dressing her wouldn't be so bad. At least then if Rayla hated what she was wearing she had a valid excuse.

Her reflection was interrupted by Callum's panicked cries for help. She sprinted to the bathroom, retrieving her swords and crashing into the bathroom. She didn't know what she expected: Runaan or another assassin, Claudia the dark mage, or any number of horrors.

What she didn't expect was a wall of thick bubbles extending to the ceiling and filling the room so rapidly that it burst out into the sitting room when she opened the door.

"HELP!" Callum shouted again from somewhere amid the bubbles.

Zym yipped and shot out of the room between Rayla's legs, trailing citrusy suds behind him. He shook the bubbles off of him before yipping happily again and bouncing back into the wall of bubbles.

Once the shock of what she was seeing passed, Rayla flipped her swords closed an exploded with laughter.

"It's not funny, Rayla!" Callum called back.

"You're only supposed to use a drop of the sunfruit soap, and it'll bubble up the bath!" she exclaimed. What did you do, drop the whole thing in?" Callum didn't respond, and Rayla said, "Oh my god, you did!"

"It was an accident! I took the bottle out of the water, but it won't stop!" Callum shouted. "What do I do?"

Rayla couldn't answer. She was too occupied laughing. She laughed so had that she couldn't keep her feet and she fell on the ground. Zym shot out of the room and onto her chest, licking her face and showering her in the sunfruit suds.

"Rayla, I'm serious!" Callum shouted. "I can't see anything in here!"

"Are you still in the bath?" Rayla asked, still unable to keep an amused tone out of her voice.

"I can get back in," Callum said.

Rayla plucked her robe off the hook on the door and stepped into the mass of bubbles. "It's fine; just stay where you are and keep talkin', so I don't run into you."

"I'm surprised that you're not afraid of this," Callum said, a hint of joking in his voice.

Rayla scoffed and rolled her eyes at this. "No one's ever drowned or gotten sea sick from bubbles, Callum."

"I mean, not yet, but we could definitely be the first. OW!" Callum shouted when Rayla reached for his shoulder and ended up poking him in the eye instead. "Pipe down, you're fine. Put the robe on, dummy," Rayla said as she felt her way forward the window. She unlocked the latch and moved aside so that the suds could start pouring out the window. She bumped into Callum on her way back to the tub and tripped over Zym, who was still playing in the bubbles. After the water drained, she said, "Well, it might cause hell for the drains, but at least it won't make more bubbles in here."

"Which is a real shame because I personally think we don't have enough," Callum replied. "It gives the room a bit of charm."

Rayla chuckled a bit at this and bent down to pick up Zym, who was chewing at her shoe. "Whatever you say, sky boy. Now blow the suds out the window."

Callum hesitated, waiting until he knew Rayla was behind him an asked, "Won't that make a mess?"

"The room is suds, Callum. I think we're beyond the point of making a mess," Rayla said.

Callum chuckled at this before performing the wind spell. He did end up making a mess, spraying bubbles out of the window, but also out the door that Rayla had forgotten to close. When he'd done all he could do there were still traces of the mess, but at least most of the floor was visible. When he turned to face Rayla and Zym, he burst out laughing, as Rayla was still covered in suds. "You look like you're wearing the worst wig ever made!" Callum laughed.

Rayla, in turn, smirked and scooped up some of the suds and shoved them into his face. "Put a sock in it, bubble breath," she replied.

Callum coughed and choked on the soap before he too fell into a fit of laughter. They might have stayed laughing like that for ages, were they not interrupted.

"Should I come back another time?" a glassy voice asked, shocking both Callum and Rayla into silence. Its owner was another mood shadow elf who was about a head taller than Rayla with elegantly curved horns and porcelain white skin that made her amethyst eyes stand out all the more. "I had hoped to give our guest some fresh clothes for the evening, but it seems like you were too busy destroying the place to consider propriety."

"No, this was my fault," Callum admitted quickly.

"Don't bother," Rayla cut him off before he could get any farther. "Tellin' anyone around here that I'm not responsible for a mess and you might as well start talkin' to the walls expecting conversation."

The other elf smirked an leaned against the door frame before saying, "There are some walls that do talk back you know. It really is too bad that you didn't get your feet chopped off."

"What?" Callum exclaimed, shocked that someone hated Rayla enough even to suggest something so horrible.

Rayla, on the other hand, smirked and replied, "It's too bad you didn't get thrown into a pit full of spikes."

"It's too bad you didn't get electrocuted to death," the other elf said.

Thinking about the encounter with Bait and the giant fish, Rayla gave Callum a knowing smirk before saying, "It was a close call with that one. It's too bad you didn't get crushed in a rock slide."

"It's too bad you didn't get trapped in a mining shaft and get abducted by a murder cult."

"It's too bad your goblet didn't explode, sending shards of glass into your eyes and blindin' you for life."

"It's too bad-"

"STOP IT!" Callum ordered. "Why are you acting like this? I get that you hate each other, but-"

"Hate each other?" the other elf asked indignantly. "I should hope not. Rayla's a pain, but she's also my dearest friend!"

"You're...friends?" Callum repeated.

"Cousin, technically," Rayla explained.

"But also friends!" the other girl exclaimed.

Rayla shook her head and said, "Calyn, this is my cousin-friend, Alya."

_**Okay, so...I don't usually update this fast...don't expect it. You'll be disappointed. Also, if anyone caught the Night In The Woods reference is amazing. A**__lso, yes, Rayla's cousin is named Alya just because of Miraculous Ladybug and I'm not sorry._


	3. Silence In The Library

When Callum had left Rayla's room and left for the library with Zym on his hip, Alya and Rayla were still trading in insults. Before leaving Katolis, he did not understand girls, and it seemed that sentiment was just as true in Xadia as it was back home.

At least Zym was having a good time. Not that Callum wasn't having a good time, he just felt akin to a fish in a desert. Maybe it was because of his fancy new elf clothes. Having a down day would be good. They'd been going non stop since they crossed the border.

The library was massive with four stories that he could see. He had no idea how he'd find anything he was looking for. He was fortunate in stumbling upon a librarian. He looked up some books about sky magic from a huge directory and wrote down the reference number, showing Callum where to look for the books. The section he was looking for was on the very top floor.

He and Rayla had been walking for weeks so the climb wouldn't be too bad. Zym was enjoying it a lot more than Callum, though. Once they got to the top, it was short work for Callum to find what he was looking for. He made a stack of books around him and sat on the ground. He had his sketchbook on his lap, sketching in symbols, incantations, and what the spell was meant to do. Zym got bored and curled up against Callum's leg, falling asleep soon after.

He was still making notes when there was a clamor below followed by someone demanding silence. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, but also wanting to know what had happened, Callum snuck to the edge and peeked out through the divider, surprised to see Lady Raelyra with two other elves, both male and one as skywing elf like him (or like he was pretending to be.

"You two need to stop acting like fools," the lady snapped, sounding harsh and cold.

"You've been calling me a fool ever since I became a bard, gran," the moonshadow elf replied wryly, his accent reminding Callum of Rayla.

"And you've been a fool since before then," Raelyra said. "Don't you realize that there is gravity to your actions now that Rayla's here?"

Callum had had every intention of minding his own business, but the mention of Rayla made him neglect his manners.

"Gran, I honestly think you care more than Rayla would," the bard replied.

"I think it would be wise to air on the side of caution...for now," said the skywing elf. "The truth must be known?"

"But it needn't be known now," Raelyra said. "This is a chance to mend some bridges. Surely you can see that."

"Any bridges we mend with lies will destroy the foundations," the bard retorted.

"The truth will be devastating to her," the skywing elf said. "It's best to wait."

"Tarron, listen to Aeon," Raelyra said sternly. "You cannot tell her."

"Rayla's smarter than you're giving her credit for, gran," Tarron replied. "She's going to find out sooner or later. I would rather she hear it from me than someone else."

"It's not your place, Tarron," Raelyra snapped.

"It definitely is my place," Tarron retorted. "Would you rather Alya tell her?"

"The moon mage?" Aeon scoffed, his tone mocking.

Tarron hit Aeon on the back of the head. "That's my cousin, you feathery-"

"Enough squabbling," Raelyra snapped. "Tarron, you cannot tell her about her wedding."

Callum's eyes went wide at this. Her wedding meaning...Rayla's wedding.

Tarron heaved a sigh and rubbed his face with one of his hands before his back on his companions, storming towards the exit without a word. Raelyra made a deliberate attempt at pursuing him, calling, "Tarron, you cannot tell her! "

Tarron turned around and said, "Gran, keep it down. We're in a library."

Aeon put a hand on Lady Raelyra's shoulder and said, "I'll try and talk to him after he settles down a bit."

"Do you think he'll tell her?" Raelyra asked.

"I can only hope that he'll see sense," Aeon answered. "He has a good heart, but sometimes that's his undoing."

"Will you speak with him?" she asked. "He won't listen to me."

Aeon nodded but said nothing, offering the older elf his arm and escorting her away, leaving Callum alone in the silence again with only a dozing Zym and his thoughts.

Who was Rayla marrying? What was the big secret about it that her grandmother didn't want Rayla to know? Why had she not mentioned it? And why did he care? The last question made him take pause. It didn't take long for Callum to realize that he didn't want Rayla getting married, even though it wasn't any of his business.

He tried to shake the thought away, but it ate at him like a leech. He reached out to Zym and scratched under the baby dragon's chin to wake him. It was time to head back to Rayla's room. They were guests for supper, or at least he was. He didn't want to make a bad impression for some reason.

**_So you know how I said I didn't want this to be longer than five chapters? Yeah...I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm not sure how I feel about having so many OC's, but we don't really know a lot about Rayla's family so...yes. I still haven't decided if Rayla's parents will make an appearance or not. Probably not. There have been a lot of introductions. I think that's all the characters now, but who knows? Most certainly not me...the writer. But anyway, behold, the intrigue. Bom bom BOM!_**


	4. Together Again

"You're going to ruin your hair! Stop it!" Alya complained, trying to move Rayla's head back into place.

It did no good though. That only made Rayla laugh harder, which lead to Tarron laughing at Alya's frustration. Needless to say, the scene wasn't what Callum had expected to walk in on. He did recognize Tarron, and he scowled. Callum didn't trust him. He suddenly felt guilty for having been so dismissive towards Rayla about Soren and Claudia, as it seemed that Tarron and Rayla were...close.

"Oh, hello Calyn," Alya greeted him, being the first one to notice him. "I see you found a lot of reading material."

Callum shifted his stack of books in his arms and said, "Yeah, I got a bit lost, so I thought-"

"Lemme help you there, short stack," Tarron said as he swept in, scooping Callum's books out of his hands and setting them on the table in the sitting room, which had been righted, but was still empty from Rayla kicking it over.

Callum bristled a bit, despite Tarron's amicable tone. "Thanks," he said, trying not to be short with him. After all, as far as Tarron knew, Calym had never seen him before.

"It's quite rude to call people 'short stack', Tarron," Alya chided. "We can't all be towering idiots like you."

Rayla laughed at this and said, "Yeah, Tarron, you're almost a foot taller than me, but I dare yeh to take me on."

"Mother would be most cross to find you've murdered her only son," Tarron said.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," Callum said, his tone short.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Tarron, the least rebellious of the Welun family," Tarron introduced himself with a short bow. He had to admit that Alya was right. Tarron was tall. He was nearly six and a half feet tall, but he was almost wiry.

"Also the idiot of the family," Rayla said.

"And my little sister's the meanest in the family," he countered.

"Sister?" Callum asked.

In a flash, Rayla moved out of Alya's grasp, had one of her swords flicked into a hook, and used it to sweep Tarron off his feet. "Alya just said it was rude to call people little," She said jokingly.

"You didn't tell me you had a brother," Callum said.

"A brother with a bruised tail bone!" Tarron exclaimed, moving to get up.

"Yeah, you deserved it," Callum muttered under his breath. He may as well have shouted with as sharp as elf ears were.

"That's not very nice," Alya said, her lip drawn in a pout.

Rayla didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Her eyes said it all. She wanted to be upset with Callum for slighting her brother, but she wasn't angry. She was concerned, knowing that being rude like that was so out of character for him.

She opened her mouth to ask what Callum was talking about, but before she could get a word out, Tarron said, "He's right. I...do deserve it. I came up here to tell you something, but I just got so distracted because you're here and I haven't seen you in so long and I just...I have something to tell you, but I didn't want to ruin it and-"

"Shut up, Tarron," Rayla snapped. "Yer doin' that thing where you sound like a run on sentence."

"I need to talk to you," Tarron said. "I don't know how he knew. He must be like...some sort of brain mage."

"Brain mage?" Callum asked.

"There's no such thing as a brain mage," Alya scoffed. "I mean...I could really mess with your brain, but I'm not a brain mage."

Rayla rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, just shut up, all of you. Tarron, we're takin' a walk."

"But Rayla," Alya whined. "We have to do your hair. There won't be time!"

"Just put somethin' on my bed, and I'll wear it," Rayla snapped. She took Tarron by the ear and dragged him out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

He and Alya looked at each other, both having nothing to say and ignoring the awkward silence the followed.

It wasn't even a minute before Rayla came back into the room, pulled Callum into the washroom, which was still covered in suds, and shut the door behind her.

"How did you know Tarron was lyin'?" she asked.

"Oh...uh...I overheard him talking to your grandma and some other elf. A skywing elf. I think his name was-"

"Aeon," Rayla scowled. "Do you know what they wanted to keep from me?"

"Do you not think he'll tell you the truth?" Callum asked.

With a sigh, Rayla said, "No, he'll be honest. He's good like that. Stupid, but good."

"But he didn't tell you right away," Callum brought up. "Are you so sure that you can trust him?"

"Well you can always just tell me so I can know ahead of time," Rayla suggested, smirking a bit.

"I didn't hear what they were talking about, only that they were keeping something from you," Callum said. He knew he was lying, but he wasn't sure he wanted to discuss Rayla getting married. He wasn't sure why he didn't want to talk to Rayla about her future wedding.

She smiled, not suspecting his dishonesty. She hugged him and said, "Thanks for telling me."

He hesitated, not sure that he deserved her trust, as he wasn't entirely honest with her. It was in that moment, as he and Rayla embraced and before she left him in the washroom so she could talk with her brother that it dawned on him. The reason why he got uncomfortable thinking about her getting married. The reason why he didn't want to talk about her romantic life.

"So, you fancy my cousin then," Alya said as she started sorting through some dresses when Callum returned, listlessly thumbing through one of his books.

"Me? Fancy? Rayla?" Callum asked, laughing awkwardly afterward.

"You didn't deny it," Alya said, smirking a bit. "Don't worry; I won't tell her. You should, though. Would you like me to trim your hair? It's a bit messy."

Callum hesitated for a moment. He didn't know how Alya knew he liked Rayla, especially where he had just figured it out hardly a minute before. Still, she seemed kind and had promised not to tell Rayla. He submitted his hair to her, laughing when she squealed with excitement before getting to work.

_**No real notes to add so...hello. My drunken St. Patrick's day plans got canceled so you get another chapter. Hurrah! Don't forget to review and subscribe and crap. 3**_


	5. Exposed

"You must be the...human raised elf," someone said from behind Callum.

Callum turned around, hoisting the pack he had Zym nestled in higher on his shoulder. He was surprised when he found himself face to face with the skywing elf he'd seen in the library. He was tall and, though Callum hated to admit it, quite handsome. He had begun to resent his choice not to join Alya when she went off to find Rayla and Tarron.

"Um, yeah, I'm Calyn," he introduced himself hesitantly.

"My name is Aeon, of the red sky family. As the only other skywing elf here, I thought it my duty to reach out to you."

"Thanks," Callum said, though not convincingly. "So are you friends with the Welun family?"

"Aeon is the groom for a marriage alliance," said Raelyra, who Callum hadn't even noticed arrive.

Callum had had his suspicions that Aeon was Rayla's fiance, but hearing the confirmation filled Callum with rage and, suddenly, he found that he hated Aeon. Sure, he seemed a decent enough fellow, but did he respect Rayla enough to tell her the truth? Did he even know Rayla? Would he be there for her if she ever had to get on a boat? Could he appreciate how amazing and kind and skilled she was? Callum didn't think so, and that made him furious. He couldn't understand why Rayla would want anything to do with him.

Then it occurred to him...that Rayla didn't know. That was why there was so much secrecy.

"Well that's...uh," Callum searched for a word, searched for anything. He had to say something, but it couldn't be the first thing on his mind. Relations between Rayla and her family were already tense enough, and he didn't want to make it worse. Zym whined from his place on Callum's back and nuzzled against him. It was a small comfort, but it was better than nothing.

"Yes, well I'm sure that Rayla hasn't told you," Aeon said.

"Tarron's telling Rayla everything," Callum blurted out without thinking. He swallowed hard and the lump in his throat when Aeon and Raelyra peered down at him, their eyes icy and cold.

"And how would you know that?" Raelyra asked cooly.

"That's not the question you should be askin', gran," Rayla's voice rang out from across the hall.

The occupants of the banquet all turned to face Rayla, Callum included. His face turned white and his ability to speak vanished. Aeon shouted the word 'no' and Lady Raelyra unleashed an agonized shriek. The hall echoed with more screams and mumbles as the other elves Rayla was framed in the doorway, covered in blood, one of her blades naked and unsheathed. In the other hand was Tarron's head, hanging from her fist, fingers tangled in his hair.

"You all lied to me," Rayla said, pointing her sword at her grandmother and her betrothed. "You betrayed me. You're supposed to be my family."

"I'll kill her," Aeon growled. "I swear, I will kill her."

"You'll have to catch me first, flyboy," Rayla said with a smirk.

One of the guards was approaching her, but Rayla was too quick for him, springing out of his grasp and into one light fixtures.

"Rayla, come down here and we can talk about this," Raelyra said, her voice wavering and her eyes filling with tears.

"If she comes down here I'll make sure she never speaks again," Aeon shouted.

Rayla hopped back onto the ground, still holding the dismembered head aloft. "I'd like to see you try, Aeon," Rayla challenged.

Callum, not thinking, put himself between Rayla and traced the lightning rune in the air. Sparks flashed in his hand, and he crouched down, ready to cast the spell. "Don't you touch her," Callum ordered.

A murmur rose at this, but it was less fearful as it had been when Rayla arrived and more awed. Aeon's jaw fell open, and he glanced up at the sky outside before looking back at Callum. "How are you doing that? The skies are clear!"

"I think you and I need to have a talk," Rayla said, her voice suddenly level. "If someone comes rushin' at ya with a severed head...you aim the lightenin' at them."

"It certainly is a...shocking ending to the affair," a new voice said.

Callum and the rest of the room turned to the door, and there was a surprised clamor that followed when the saw Tarron standing there Alya, both looking smug with themselves.

Lady Raelyra's face twisted into a scowl and she started shouting, "You rotten little monsters!"

"It served you all right," Rayla said, lobbing the dismembered head at Aeon, who caught it and got covered in moonberry juice once the balloon that had been disguised as her brothers head.

"That was...a prank?" Callum asked, his fingers still loaded with lightning.

"I think it was one of our finest before you threatened to electrocute my husband," Tarron said, inching his way around Callum, a wary eye on the crackling magic. Once he was safely out of Callum's reach, he looked at Tarron with a smug grin and said, "Red's a good color on you."

"That wasn't funny!" Aeon snapped, yanking Tarron into his arms and squeezing him tight.

"You're getting juice all over me," Tarron complained, trying to get away.

"It serves you right," Raelyra snapped. "And you, reverse that spell before you hurt someone."

Callum swallowed a lump in his throat and admitted, "I, uh, I don't know how to do that."

"You can summon lightning without a primal stone or a storm, but you can't reverse the spell?" Aeon exclaimed. "Who on earth taught you magic?"

"I didn't exactly have a teacher," Callum admitted.

"Just draw the rune in reverse, and that'll shut it off," Alya said. "That's just simple magic. I'm surprised my cousin didn't tell you that."

"I didn't learn magic, Alya," Rayla snapped. "If it did then that would have been nice to know before he almost killed me with that spell."

Callum followed Alya's advice and traced the spell in reverse, grinning when the lightning vanished. "That's amazing!" he laughed.

"I'm more amazed that you were able to do that in these conditions," Aeon said. "I've studied sky magic. Without a primal stone that should be impossible."

"He's just special, I guess," Rayla said, elbowing Callum playfully, which made him blush.

"I'm more concerned about you, Rayla," Lady Raelyra said. "You must be so upset that we've kept this from you the way we did and I'm sorry, my dear. You must be devastated."

Rayla raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Devastated? Frankly, I couldn't be happier."

"You what?" Callum asked, not sure that he understood all that had transpired.

"Everyone thinks I left home because of what happened with mum and dad," Rayla started to explain. "But that wasn't it. I mean, it was the reason I left, but not the reason I didn't come back. I just needed some time to cool off. What made me go join the assassins was when I found out that you'd made a marriage alliance including Aeon and me here."

"But you fancy Aeon!" Raelyra exclaimed. "We thought you'd be glad!"

"Correction, gran. I fancied Aeon...when I was five. Now I think he's a bit of a shite and Tarron's already married to him so I can't marry him."

"I told you she wouldn't want an arranged marriage," Alya jeered at her grandmother. "But no one listens to me because I'm just a silly moon mage."

"I wouldn't call the magic we just saw 'silly'," Aeon snapped, still holding onto his husband.

"No, but the looks on your faces were priceless," Rayla snickered.

"I don't think it was funny, Rayla," Callum grumbled.

"No...it was hilarious," Rayla chuckled.

"No, it wasn't!" Callum shouted, the force in his voice making Zym whine and crawl out of his spot on Callum's back int jump into Rayla's arms. Rayla like he had hit her with his hands rather than just his words. From the look she gave him alone, Callum regretted shouting at her.

"Oh relax, Rayla," Alya said with a chuckle. "He's only cross because he fancies you."

Rayla's eyes went wide, and she looked back and forth between Callum and Alya. Callum couldn't move or speak, his face twisted in shock and horror.

"I'm sorry," Rayla said at last. "He what?"

**_So I'm thinking one more chapter after this one and it'll be done. Yayyy! I'm hoping no one saw the gay boys coming and that was a surprise. In my head they're a super cute couple and I love 'em a lot._**


	6. Jerk Face

"Care to explain why you're avoidin' me?" Rayla asked.

Callum, who had been, hunched over his sketchbook on the balcony, jolted so violently that he fell off his seat and into the flowerbed behind him, crushing a bed of white lilies. "Rayla!" he exclaimed, trying to get back on his feet."What...what're you doing here? I thought you were with your brother-in-law."

Zym had been asleep on the ground, but he woke up and watched the scene with confusion, glancing between Rayla and Callum.

Rayla gave Zym watched him struggle to get back up, a bit like a turtle on its back. She could have helped him back up, but it was more amusing to watch him suffer. "Ah, so you did see me come back after gran made me go change. You just admitted to it."

He was almost back in his seat, but his grip slipped, and he wound up back in the flower bed again. "Could you maybe help me up?" he asked, exasperated.

"Could ya maybe answer my question and stop wreckin' the luna lilies?" Rayla countered.

"I'm trying!" Callum argued, trying to tug his leg free and finding it still stuck between a tine on the bench.

Rayla rolled her eyes and gathered up her skirts, which were elaborate and massive, draped them over her arm, got onto the bench. She wedged her foot under his leg and used it to pop his ankle out of its trap before grabbing his hand and yanking him back onto the bench. "I don't know if you know this, but sometimes I think you're kind of hopeless."

"Thanks," Callum said skeptically, giving Rayla's bare, exposed legs a wary glance before looking up at her. He'd thought that seeing her in the dress from a distance had an adverse effect on him, but from up close it was worse. Much worse. The gown draped off her hips and rolled elegantly past her toes when she released the fabric. The rest of the deep violet and silver fabric hugged her body tight, ensuring that the dress wouldn't slip down, as there were no sleeves or straps to hold the bodice aloft. Callum had seen dresses like it on the other elves, but it looked better on Rayla, in his opinion.

"It's because of what Alya said, isn't it?" Rayla asked, letting go of the dress and jumping down from the bench, sitting down next to him.

Callum felt his palms clam up and the hair on the nape of his neck stood up. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Callum lied.

Rayla elbowed him and said, "You know perfectly well what I'm talkin' about. Alya said that you fancied me and then she dragged me away to change my clothes."

In an attempt to play dumb, Callum said, "I have no memory of that."

Rayla smirked and said, "I know you're lyin'. Do you know what I think of liars?" Callum shook his head and swallowed a lump in his throat when Rayla crossed her legs and arms then said, "I think if you're a liar...you're a jerk face."

Callum groaned and rolled his eyes, "You don't get to call me a jerk face. Only Ez gets to call me a jerk face."

"The funny thing about that is that I did just call you a jerk face," Rayla smirked. "You have to do the thing now."

"You lied to me and Ez, and I never called you a jerk face for it," Callum grumbled.

"Yes, but then I saw the error of my ways and have been nothin' but honest with you ever since. Plus, being called a jerk face doesn't mean as much to me as it would to you...because I wouldn't have to do the dance. There's actually music playin', so it won't be as bad as last time."

"Someone could come out here and see!" Callum argued.

"Yes, but I wouldn't count on it. Besides, the longer you wait, the more you risk it," Rayla argued.

"If I do it will you drop it?" Callum asked.

Rayla nodded and, grumbling, Callum got off the bench, tapped his foot to get the rhythm right with the music and then, the jerk face dance began.

Zym watched, confused at first, but then he started yipping and following Callum, which led to Rayla laughing. Callum tried to keep his face as 'jerk face dance' appropriate as possible, but her amusement made him smile.

He took her hand and pulled her onto her feet, still doing his jerk face dance. He would never have anticipated that she would join in. Rayla danced better, in Callum's opinion, but before long they were both laughing at themselves at each other, a baby dragon prancing around their feet. Rayla did a spin under his arm, her dress spiraling around her like a tornado and on her way back they almost fell over, but ended up catching each other instead.

"You're a bit of an idiot," Rayla laughed, her hands holding his face, which was flushed from all the dancing.

"It's part of my charm," Callum panted.

Rayla laughed, shook her head, and said, "Yeah, it kind of is."

Callum was about to argue that it was rude of her to agree with him, but before he could, Rayla's mouth got in his way. He hadn't expected that his first kiss would be like this. He might have hoped, especially after how things had ended with Claudia.

He had just started to kiss her back when a loud 'ooooooooh!' shocked Rayla and Callum into pulling apart, him putting his hands over her hands as if that would hide something.

Tarron was standing in the doorway leading back into the ballroom, a grin on his face and Alya at his side. "Do I hear wedding bells?" he asked.

"You're not funny," Rayla snapped, glaring at her brother.

"I thought it was funny," Alya said.

"Will it be funny when I actually cut off one your heads?" Rayla threatened.

"You'd better not," Alya said. "Gran's still quite upset about that."

"Speaking of gran, she wants to talk to you," Tarron said. "Boring provision talk, you know the thing."

Rayla heaved an annoyed sigh and said, "Fine, I'll go talk to gran,"

Alya, sensing that Rayla wanted them to leave, pushed Tarron back into the ballroom, ignoring his efforts to get past her and singing 'Rayla and her boyfriend on the balcony, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.'

Once they were gone, Rayla and Callum finally dared to look at each other, both of them blushing. Rayla took her hands off his face, and he, in turn, released her hands, but neither of them moving away.

"I didn't realize how dangerous the jerk face dance could be," Rayla said, hoping to fill the silence.

"I keep telling people, but they just don't listen," Callum replied.

Rayla chuckled at this, but there was still tension between them. "I'd better go see what gran needs," she said, taking a step back.

"Wait a minute," Callum said, snatching her hand before she could get too far.

She raised an eyebrow and looked down at their hands before looking back at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Save a dance for me?" Callum asked, his cheeks turning scarlet.

Rayla smiled and said, "Only if you stop avoiding me."

"You have my word," Callum said, bringing her hand to kiss mouth and giving it a peck.

Rayla left with a smile on her face, and Callum was too stunned to know what to emote. When he finally got back to his senses, he returned to the place he had fallen, gathered his sketchbook, opened it back up to the drawing he had left off on before Rayla had interrupted him.

A smile came back on his face as he remembered her hands on his face as he got back to work, sketching a moonshadow elf who had kissed a human in a dress that looked like the night sky.

_behold, it is done. might do more Rayllum stuff in the future. Anyway, leave me a review and let me know what you think. byeee_


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